Officials call for action at marine debris kickoffState, federal and non-governmental representatives called for action to reduce debris Thursday, the official kickoff for a program to remove collected debris from sites around Alaska. Elaine Busse Floyd, director of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Environmental Conservation, called attention to the dangers that marine debris can pose. “Fish, marine mammals and other wildlife are af...

Woman still seeks photo of Kurt Int-HoutA woman from Hawaii who collects photographs to “put a face to the name” at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., says she still hopes someone from Kodiak would get give her a photograph of Kodiak man Kurt Int-Hout. Janna Hoehn has been collecting photos for The Wall during the past six years. “I know sometimes people will read the article and think someone else will respond,” Hoehn said, “and wh...

Don’t use the Bible as weapon to condemn While having lunch at a local coffee shop recently, I had a couple of people stop by my table to thank me for bravely taking a stand in favor of gay marriage. I did not do it to get thanks, or to be popular, despite what many conservatives say about more open churches being so “PC,” as in “Politically Correct.” PC, with air quotes, and said sarcastically, has become the disclaimer many people use to justify their ...

AMAZING NATURE: A summer day with whales and wondersVisitors stream to Alaska every summer to share in the wonders of our amazing ocean bounty and wildlife sights. This is a very special summer for me because my parents are here. They bravely embarked on a very long trip flying from Germany across the North Atlantic Ocean, over Greenland and Canada to Seattle, then getting herded through customs and TSA, miles of airport travel, mechanical delays and language barri...

Photo album offers glimpse of 130-year-old Kodiak murder(EDITOR’S NOTE: This updated story, which first appeared on July 12 in the Alaska Dispatch News, is being reprinted with permission from the writer and the ADN. This version includes a few more significant details and photos.) KODIAK — A tattered photo album arrived at the Baranov Museum in Kodiak earlier this year. Once it had been made of velvet, but only bits of the softness remained. The posed portraits were m...

Coast Guard medevacs 52-year-old man 150 miles south of KodiakA Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak aircrew medevaced a 52-year-old man from the 600-foot cargo vessel Elsa, approximately 150 miles south of Kodiak, Tuesday. The MH-60 Jayhawk crew safely hoisted the man and transported him to Kodiak Providence Medical Center for further care. Watchstanders from Coast Guard District 17 command center received a report Monday evening from the crew of the Elsa that the crewmember was ...

Public Safety Blotter: July 16July 8 At 1:25 a.m., police advised a driver on Rezanof Drive East about a taillight out. Around 1:46 a.m., police conducted two bar checks downtown. At 2:56 a.m., police conducted a security check on Rezanof Drive East. At 12:08 p.m., a caller reported an abandoned vehicle on Mill Bay Road. It was on private property. At 12:46 p.m., police impounded a loose dog on Mission Road. At 1:36 p.m., a caller reported for...

Alaska State Troopers: July 16July 7 Kodiak Alaska Wildlife Troopers contacted a commercial fishing tender near Cape Ilktugitak and cited the operator for employing an unlicensed crewmember. A crewmember was cited for no commercial crew license in possession. July 8 Kodiak AWT contacted a person commercial fishing in Chignik Bay and found the person did not have photo identification with them while acting as the permit holder aboard a vessel. ...

We have separation of church and state in this countryWith all due respect to Pastor Voss (or was it Rev. Mahaffey? Mr. Rostad’s article is unclear on this point), he’s talking fiddlesticks when he forecasts “a point where even churches that oppose same-sex marriage will be ordered to (marry same-sex couples) by the courts.” I have heard this Chicken Little nonsense bandied around by so many Americans who ought to know better. If the courts had any power over religio...